? David A.? Your point resonates with me.??David?Ilvedson was kidding around. (SEE below). ? Fenton ? Zzzactly ?? I believe it was ?Del who said, all?piano design starts with a string scale.?Fenton, I?have experienced clearly what you have stated."Still the Steinway soul is in there"? ? Did it ustta be a Steinway or is it still a Steinway????????? ? Wow.. we get that a lot.? ? Answer: Who cares...It's?an enormously satisfying Steinway/piano sound & more enjoyable to my ears than most I've have heard.?With Modifications/customizations the original?design gets the equivalent of a tonal super charger & then?stuff happens I've not heard prior.? ????I feel compelled to say that even for me this is a new journey & I recognize true tonal beauty more intensely?after I've listened more closely to a variety of music's & pianists play on the same instrument over time. When Bruce Stevens sat & played our B in Anaheim, he plays to the bottom of the keys...vigorously. My pleasure at this that?lacks words. When the Student played Ravel in class?it became like a very different tonal palate. He played what I call sleepy time music, which engages the keys differently, with a caress. ?Anyway...Although I requested something played vigorously for class & got Ravel. It was perfect. ?All that to say, give new?piano/tonal?experiences the benefit of time & exposure no matter what the decal. The whole decal thing?I find?most humorous & frustrating. Lets just learn to trust our own ears & opinions instead of the decal. When? I was younger it took along time before I was exposed to? really fine voicing & tone. My brainwashed ears needed time to adjust.? ? I was waiting till the 6 ft 8 inch Henry Miller wasn't so green to comment but I Tuned it last week, did some voicing & it's very Steinway esk. It's a beautiful tonealbeit But different.? I've not heard really fine pianist or a variety of music played on it so I am still reserving a final subjective critique.?It does have?a beefier &?heavier plate which creates enormous & instant tuning stability.? It also?has a massively long back scale but the string scale is 1894 ish Stwy B?Tenor lengths. How these things effect the sound would only be a subjective opinion. It has wonderful?color & power?just waiting to be tapped. ? Needless to say I really like the outcome & it is a?for me a?success. The client is more than willing to show it. Fenton... come on over ? Speaking of customizing things one may not think of...but on?our convention?B I customized the casters.? I despise the teensie little wheels that came as OEM parts. Dennis I install Big brass Yamaha made casters. Perhaps a solid footing supports the tone in much the same way as it does for singers with feet planted firmly on the ground, & when they are,?they? sing with power & resonance. Ok a stretch...Maybe ...but they look better & roll immeasurably better which also removes the stress on the leg system. Also?the mass may resists energy absorption into the floor. ? Finally I think we did to define what constitutes customization. Perhaps the idea would be more widely understood under the Banner of "Performance Enhancement" or "Extreme Makover" or "Hot roddin it". Hey ,every body can relate to this. Personally I like the first one. ? Dale Erwin ? List, ?I'd like to throw out a question. I've now built 4 bellies myself.?? I have seen several Steinways that have been very highly modified.? Consider?a completely different soundboard design, scale design, a?totally different approach to hammer design and installation, to say nothing of damper, action and key re-design. While these design changes all play a part in bringing out a new voice to an old piano, I always am able to very clearly hear a Steinway in there, the Steinway soul is still there, it's as though it can be tweaked, but not changed (who'd want to?).?Sooo, what makes a Steinway sound like a Steinway? Did it Usta-B a Steinway, or is it still? I think that it still very much is, more of the original timbre and tone remains than is replaced. Even the?rim and plate are changed, what with treble dams and aliquot and duplex mods, plate mounting, etc, etc. It seems that the design of everything can be changed, and we still have the wonderful Steinway. And why can no other piano be made to sound like one? (Dale, I'd like to hear that Henry Miller with the B belly.) Thank you, list, for taking my questions. I'll now take my answers off the air. ? None of this is meant to be pro or con design changes in vintage Steinways, please, let's not go there. Fenton ? No we don't; the belly's great just as it is---and the action is---uh---it's fine! Just fine. It'll break in and lighten up a lot in the next couple weeks. If you've got my check there, ma'am, I gotta go. Have fun. Buh-bye.... David "Tune 'n Run" Andersen Well first of all, we don't need to do anything with the belly...;-] David Ilvedson, RPT Pacifica, CA 94044 Colleagues Lets' agree to discontinue the idle banter. I've got a great Idea why don't we really discuss customizing a piano. What does it mean & all that it entails. It would be drastically more engaging than the spitting in the wind that's been going on under this wrongly titled thread which has zip to do with true authentic & artisanal Custom Piano Restoration, design or new designs. Who will go first? Dale Erwin -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/20080705/823311f3/attachment.html
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